Advantages

Disadvantages

Good Beer, good atmosphere, high prices

Based in the heart of theatreland I always struggle to find this Belgian bar. It is based on Drury Lane close to a plethora of theatres but it is so easy to lose your bearings in the range of streets in this area.

So the Lowlander, set over two floors, this is essentially a Belgian pub, serving a great variety of Belgian beer and food. There are over 15 tap beers, you can order by the pint, half pint or two pint glass, food ranges from moules et frites to more extravagant fare, as a committed Belgian beer drinker, I love Moules and Frites with it and for £5.99 for a small portion they are good value, although £11.99 for a dinner sized portion is too much considering Belgos is only round the corner, the only thing I would say is this place is noisy, gets very packed and it can be a struggle getting served on a busy night, whereas during the afternoon its a lovely place to go with a friend or a book and sample a few tasty Belgian beers with a nice lunch.

The place does get packed around 6-7pm prior to all the shows and then gets really busy from 9pm onwards. Seating is fairly minimal and you have to get there early to get one, the range of drinks is great and probably the best reason to come here.

Prices are high for the beer, as is the case throughout London with bottles ranging from £3-£6, the place has a good atmosphere, is generally jovial and has a fine selection of beers, what I would say is if you want to guarantee to eat and get a seat you are better off booking tables at the nearby Belgian themed restaurants Belgos, or Bierodrome.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

"Long Service Time"

Well I won't beat around the bush on this one. Every month for the past 5 years I've been organising outings for a group of people (2000) to visit a new pub every month. In my time I haven't been to a pub as disorganised as this one. Usually we have 50 people turn up each month to the pub. However on contacting lowlander and booking a place for 50 people, I was told this was possible. However on turning up on the evening I found out that they had only reserved a place for at most 10-20 people. It was evident after this that they had not planned for 50 people or told us it was not possible for this booking. We had people outside the pub who could not even get in the door and as a result had to go elsewhere. The service was also painfully slow, and it took a long time to get served at the bar. I didn't get the impression the Manager really cared about the situation and the excuse was simply, there isn't anything we can do and we didn't expect there to be so many people. I would say for parties and group bookings to be weary since you could have egg on your face if you used this place for an event and find you don't have a seat or your booking has been delayed. I don't find the management trust worthy after my encounter and I have dealt with many pub managements before without this problem. I didn't try the food here so can't comment, however the drinks are notably expensive which should be expected for Dutch/Belgian beers. 3 pints of De Konick was just over 11 pounds. There is a lovely indian restaurant on 22 Drury Lane called Spice of London, food is excellent and the service is even better. If however you do want to visit somewhere similar, I recommend De Hems , 11 Macclesfield Street, London, W1D 5BW. They have a great party area upstairs which they can reserve for any party occasion. They also haven' t messed up since I've been using them. They have a great party area upstairs which they can reserve for any party occasion. They also haven't messed up since I've been using them. You could also try the Porterhouse in Covent Garden which also has a large selection of beers and great atmosphere (like an old ship).

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

"I'm really sorry that your starter arrived so late sir. It's just that with all the other orders chef forgot". So ran one of the more orginal excuses for bad service I've heard. And the service in Lowlander is as bad as the excuses. First things first. Lowlander is on Drury Lane, near Cats. It is a brasserie, and appears to be the Dutch answer to Belgo's. The main selling point is the fifteen beers on tap - some of them more unusual Dutch and Belgian lagers - and it's actually not a bad place to go with a group of friends for a night out. The restaurant is one smallish room with high ceilings, low lighting and long wooden benches. This means that they cater specifically for groups, and seem fairly relaxed about numbers for booking. On the Saturday night I went, not every table was full. I would guess it could hold 100 people. Order yourself a pitcher of beer - de Kooninck was out tipple of choice, although Hoegaarden proved popular too - and study the various menus. The main menu offers standard fare of moules-frites, sausages, fishcakes, burgers, steak and chips etc etc. On the reverse are various set menus that work out quite cheaply: £10-12 will get you a starter and main course. The food was good - my sausages came with mash and a nice gravy. However, to return to my theme, the service is wonderfully, gloriously bad. Trying to order from the bar met with a firm order to sit down and be served. The starters were slow to arrive, and my friend's didn't arrive at all. Having reminded the waiter that we ordered two pitchers of beer not one, we tried to alert another waitress to the non-starter. We were treated to a mouthful of abuse saying she was not our waitress. When the starter did arrive so did that brilliant excuse that chef forgot. A companion who didn't have a starter saw her main course wait on the counter until we were all ready for our main courses, and the sau sages were cold. Clearly tiring of complaints the waiter became ruder and ruder. I don't go on like this because I like complaining. I just get frustrated that there's nothing I can do about it. I hope by writing this opinion that some dooyoo members might think twice before going, which would be my revenge on Lowlander.